


Worth The Pain

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Series: Not Your Typical McKirk [4]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Developing Relationship, F/M, Hurt Jim, Slight Violence, Whipping, alien dungeons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 19:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6207211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim and Bones have another conversation and the relationship between Jim and Joanna becomes official.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth The Pain

The Conversation between Jim and Bones ended up happening under less than ideal circumstances. While negotiating a treaty with a a prospective member of the Federation (they were called Lorps), half the away team was captured by rebels.

Jim and his CMO were stunned and chained up in a dungeon deep in the rebel stronghold. Leonard was extremely worried for his friend, who had suffered multiple bloody lacerations on his back from the beating the rebels had given him with knotted leather whips while trying to get information the rough way. He also had a massive black eye and what the doctor suspected was a broken wrist. 

Thankfully the Lorps, even rebellious ones, seemed to revere doctors, so Leonard was mostly unscathed, having not been subjected to the questioning. He hated not being able to help Jim, whose back was bleeding freely through his ripped gold shirt. But they were chained to opposite walls, and he could not reach the captain, no matter what he did.

"Jim", he whispered, once they had the cell to themselves, "How's the back?Looks like they worked you over good."

"Yep." Jim's voice was tight. "But if I stay still, it's tolerable. Your daughter's going to kill me for getting us into this." He slumped forward, arms stretched up by the short chains on the manacles.

Leonard sighed. "No, she is not. You needed a doctor in the landing party to get their respect. None of us could have known about the rebels, so don't go beating yourself up. I warned Joanna about the dangers involved when I realized she's dead set on dating you." 

Jim looked up, tight-lipped with pain and frustration. "You've made your opinion clear on that subject and now that I think about it, I don't blame you. I'm trouble with a capital T. I'll be gray haired while she's in the prime of life, if I even live that long." He rattled the chains on his legs despondently. "I know I'm not good enough for her, Bones, but the problem is I haven't figured out how to stop loving her." 

Leonard's heart squeezed at Jim's admission and he knew then that he couldn't be so hard on him anymore.

"Jim, I said some pretty harsh things to you that I know aren't true," he said slowly, staring down at his own shackles. "It's a tough thing for a dad to realize his little girl is all grown up and in love. It means I'm going to have to let her fly away soon and that's been hard for me to accept, even though my head knows she'll be fine. You're not so much trouble as you used to be. In fact, I have to admit you've been almost downright responsible this whole voyage, shocking as that is." Jim chuckled ruefully.

"She seems to really have made an impact on you, unlike anyone you've been with before," Leonard continued. "You should have seen the fire in her eyes when she was telling me off for making you sad." 

He smiled at the memory. "Yep. Positively fierce. Would have made her grandma proud. All my denial couldn't change the fact that she's into you, for sure. As for being mad about us getting captured, I'm not looking forward to facing Carol, either. She goes all iceberg when I've ticked her off. But if you know the right things to say, she'll melt pretty fast." He grinned in a self-satisfied manner. "I think Jo will forgive you. Scold you soundly for getting hurt, but forgive you pretty soon. She'll just be upset she can't kiss it better."

Jim smiled faintly, hope beginning to spread inside, despite the chains, throbbing back, and aching arm.

"Are you giving me permission, Bones?", he asked, looking at his friend earnestly.

"If you're willing to handle a long-distance relationship with a three year wait, I guess I am. Provided of course, we get out of here alive." He clanked his shackles for emphasis. 

Jim's bruised and bloody face broke into a genuine grin so wide, Bones thought it would split in two.

"You better believe we will. Spock's looking for us and the other Lorps aren't too happy a doctor was kidnapped. They'll tear this planet apart to find us. I won't make you regret this, Bones."

Given the honest joy on his friend's face, Leonard was inclined to believe him. There was a bittersweet feeling in approving this relationship. He still found it tough to swallow that his little girl was in love with Jim, but he remembered the expression on Joanna's face looking at Jim in the prom picture and how happy the captain looked now and it made him wish them forever happiness. 

It turned out Jim's prediction of their speedy rescue was correct. Five hours into their captivity, Spock, Cupcake, and Uhura arrived with a rescue team of friendly Lorp aliens. Jim and Bones were released amid much apologies and beamed immediately back to the ship, because the Lorps would not interfere with a doctor's work and were content to finish the negotiating with Spock. 

Jim spent the next few hours in sickbay getting his arm regenerated and his wounds tended to, which was by far the worst part. The bloody cuts burned like fire when Bones cleaned them before he used the regenerator and Jim had to bite his lip to keep from yelping in pain. Finally, Bones released him to his quarters with orders to take the next day off. 

He carefully laid down on his stomach and called Joanna. He hoped the good news of Bones' approval would soften the reality of what had happened to him.

"Hey, Jo", he greeted when her lovely face appeared on screen. She wasn't fooled for a second, eyes narrowing on seeing the red marks on his back.

"Now Jim, what did you get into this time? I see those bruises."

"Um...." Jim squirmed a bit before he admitted the truth. 

"We were captured by a group of rebel aliens that didn't want the treaty to go through, they whipped me until Bones shouted at them, then they chained us up in their dungeon until Spock rescued us."

"Are you okay?" Joanna asked worriedly scanning him through the screen.

He shuddered, remembering the thwack, thwack, thwack as stroke after stroke fell and tiny pieces of bone on the whips ripped his skin open. Joanna looked sick just imagining it.

"Oh, Jim, that looks like it really throbbed. I wish I could be there to give you plenty of TLC," she sighed longingly. "Stupid aliens. I hope Dad read them the riot act." 

"Oh, you bet he did." Jim grinned. "They left us alone after he blasted them with his extensive vocabulary. They didn't understand a word of Standard, but the point got made."

"I imagine it did", Joanna laughed, "Dad's knowledge of expletives is extensive and thorough." 

She went quiet for a minute and then asked almost hesitatingly, "Has he relented at all, concerning us?"

"Amazingly, Yes", Jim answered. "We had plenty of time to talk while imprisoned and he admitted his protective dad instincts caused an overreaction that he regrets. He thinks if we're really willing to wait so long for each other, he's willing to okay it."

Relief and happiness flooded Joanna's green eyes and Jim loved the sight of her beautiful smile reappearing.

"That's wonderful, Jim. No more trying to hide this anymore. It's been hard to keep my feelings for you in a box." 

He gave her a tender look that brought out her lovely blush. "I second that emotion, hon. The waiting won't seem so long now."

The conversation then turned to Joanna's day and a much brighter looking future for the two of them.

Before they signed off, they shyly told each other those three little words they had not before dared to express: "I Love You."


End file.
